Who Says You Can't Go Home?
by jumpingsted
Summary: Who says you can't go home? Haley left Tree Hill and moved to New York. While she tries to build a new life in the City, Lucas finds new friends back home. When Haley comes back to Tree Hill years later, everything has changed. Follow our favorite teenagers through high school and expect drama, rivalry, love and much more. Lots of canon pairings included.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Sad but true, all credits belong to the incredible Mark Schwahn and the CW.**

**A/N: This is basically a Naley story but other pairings could be included. It's going to be a multi chapter fiction. We'll update once a week? We hope you like it and please review.**

* * *

PRESENT DAY

The sound of the Skype ringtone brought Lucas right back down to earth. Having been previously imagining what it would be like to run his fingers through Peyton Sawyer's hair, he settled down at his computer, as he hit the 'answer' icon, and began a call with his best friend: Haley James.

In true Haley style, she shouted at the top of her voice down the computer. Somehow she had still not managed to completely figure Skype out, and was under the impression one had to scream to be heard over the microphone.

"LUKE?"

He smiled at her, "Hey, Hales." his exasperated tone mixed with some amusement.

"So, looks like I'm coming to live in the Casa de Scott."

"Sure does. Can't wait to see you again."

"At least one of us is excited. You know I love you, Luke, but do you know how awesome NY is?"

"Tree Hill is pretty 'awesome', at the moment, though. You know my cousin, Nathan?"

"Of course I know _Nathan_. King of Tree Hill High, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, well, ever since I joined the Ravens, I've got to know him better, and he's not actually as bad as we always thought."

Haley's responsive snort told him that not only did she not want to move back home, but also that she was going to have an extremely hard time adjusting to how much his life had changed since she had left.

* * *

TWO DAYS BEFORE PRESENT DAY

"We feel terrible asking so much of you, but this job is a big deal, and there's just no way Haley can come with us,"

Lydia was sitting opposite Karen, and accepted a mug of coffee from Keith as she paused for breath.

"I just thought that as Lucas and Haley were – _are _– such good friends, this should be the first place to come."

As Keith sat down on the coach, and put his arm around his wife, Karen replied to Lydia, "It would be a pleasure to have Haley come and live with us. She won't be minor for much longer though. Will you still want her living with us in a few years: when she is old enough to choose for herself?"

"I think we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I hate having to leave her like this. We've always been such a close knit family; I'm just hoping we'll be moving back before it comes to that."

It was Keith who answered this time. He had felt it appropriate to remain silent so far in the conversation, but it was his house, after all.

"Where are you moving? And when?"

"The job is in California. It was bad enough when James got transferred to New York, and the whole family's life had to changed, but California is literally the other side of the country." When Karen nodded her head in agreement, Lydia continued, "Well, we'd like to move as soon as possible, but we're having a bit of unexpected bother."

"What sort of 'bother'?"

"Haley doesn't want to move. She's made it in New York. And so she doesn't want to come back to Tree Hill."

* * *

TWO WEEKS BEFORE PRESENT DAY

"Good night New York! Drive safely!"

Haley walked off the stage, and straight into her dressing room, where her mother was waiting for her.

"You were amazing, honey!"

"Thanks, Momma. The crowd seemed to like it, at least. I need to get home now, though; to bed."

"Of course. I called the limo already, so it should be ready to go by the time you are."

Ten minutes later, dressed in baggy tracksuit bottoms and an old t-shirt, Haley James sat in a limo, driving home, next to her mother. Lydia turned to her daughter, a very serious look gracing her normally smiling face. Her hands held Haley's as she spoke to her.

"Sweetheart, we need to talk."

"Look, Mom, I know, okay? I've had way too many concerts recently. I do love it - the singing, and performing, I mean, there's nothing like it – but I understand I need a bit of a break now. To spend some time with you and Dad. And with Quinny visiting us soon, I think it would be best to take time off and spend it with her."

"I don't think Quinn will be visiting us in New York any time soon."

"What? She promised! We haven't seen her in forever… It's David. You can tell he doesn't like us. That's why he's stolen her from us!"

"Why are you behaving like a small child?"

"Excuse me?'

"You're crying like a little baby over the fact that Quinn isn't visiting. I always thought you were the mature one, Haley. Born at thirty. By the way, none of that is what I meant to say anyway."

"So I_ will_ be able to carry on working?"

"No."

"But you just said – "

"I know what I said. You will have to take a break. But an indefinite one."

"I don't get it."

"You know the job your father's gone for the interview for?"

"Sure. It's all you've been talking about for the past month."

"Thank you, Haley, for all the support. I really don't know what's happened to you. But anyway, he got it. But it's in a different state."

When Haley's face lit up, and Lydia saw the selfless joy she had so often seen in Haley. It almost made her forget what an over worked, bad tempered girl Haley had become in recent weeks. Still, she was hoping that going back to Tree Hill, and seeing more of Lucas – such a lovely boy – would punch that right back out of her. That which had been stolen by the city they had move to three years ago.

"When does he start? Are we going to have to move far?"

"Yes. We are."

"Where is it, Mom? You're killing me!"

"The job is in California."

"Awesome! That is somewhere I've always wanted to live!"

"Well then that makes me feel even worse for saying this, but you're not coming with us," a look of shock spread over Haley's face, but before she could start talking, Lydia continued, "Your father and I will be moving to California, and I will be arranging for you to move back to Tree Hill. You've turned into something I never thought you'd be, Haley, and it seems the only way to knock that out of you is this. I'll be finding somewhere for you to live, and you will be going to the high school there. I will expect you to get a part time job, and I'm afraid singing does not fall under that category."

The ears forming at Haley's eyes, and the look of disgust on her face told Lydia her answer long before Haley eventually opened her mouth and uttered the words, "No way."

* * *

TWO DAYS BEFORE PRESENT DAY

After Lydia had left, having been promised a home for Haley by Karen before she left, Karen and Keith sat for a few hours in the living room of their home. They sat in silence, with Keith's hand on his heavily pregnant wife's stomach. However, he eventually broke the silence.

"Are you really sure it's a good idea having a new teenager moving into the house, when one's bad enough, and pretty soon we'll have a baby to care for?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Karen, is that I'm not sure I want some young, hot-shot singer I haven't seen in years moving into my home in a week"

"Why are you being like this? You love Haley!" Karen sat up with such speed that Keith's hands immediately shot up, as they always did when he feared something was going wrong with Karen's pregnancy. The couple weren't exactly old, but it was a miracle – in Keith's eyes, at least – that they had managed to conceive again, so many years after their first, and so he was making sure Karen was completely healthy and fit throughout the full nine months.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean this in the way it came out. I'm just not sure this is the best time for us to have another kid moving in."

Those words seemed to be the final straw in Karen's eyes, as she walked out of the living room, into the kitchen, where she loudly started cooking dinner. Keith knew she really was angry this time – Karen hated confrontation when she was angry with him, and so would storm off instead.

Karen knew that Keith was a kind man. Wouldn't hurt a fly. But sometimes… well sometimes she got so angry with him that her temper threatened to unearth the one secret that would blow their family apart.

* * *

THREE YEARS BEFORE PRESENT

Haley was standing in front of Lucas' house, shaking and crying. She still couldn't believe what had parents had told her, just a few minutes ago.

"Haley, sweetie, we're moving away. Your dad got a job offer."

Her eyes began to tear up, "Where?"

When her mother didn't answer, she asked again, "Mom, tell me."

"We're moving to New York, sweetie."

"When?" Haley asked.

"Next week. We arranged everything. You're getting a bigger room." Lydia was trying to calm Haley down, talk her around, but it didn't work. Haley just cried even more.

"I don't… I don't want to leave…" was all she could stammer.

Without thinking twice, Haley ran out of the room. There was just one place she could go. Normally it would take five minutes to get to Lucas's house, but not this time. She ran as fast as she could, all of the way.

Lucas opened the door to a crying Haley. From her tears, he could see something was wrong, and in a beat took her into his arms.

"What's going on, Hales? Tell me everything."

As the two kids sat down on Lucas' bed, Haley was still in shock and just couldn't say a word. So many things were spinning around in her head. _This is home. Tree Hill is home. How am I supposed to survive without Lucas? _

"My parents... They just told me that we're moving away... My dad got a job offer in New York. We're leaving next week." Was all she could bring out.

In shock, Lucas took her into his arms again. _This can't be true. They can't move away._

"Everything's going to be okay, Hales. I promise."

A week later, Haley woke up in the middle of the night. _In a few hours, I'm gone. _Her eyes began to tear up again. She had been crying on and off constantly for the last few days. She and Lucas were both trying to spend as much time as possible together before she left, because they couldn't stand the thought of not seeing each other again. Even though they had made a promise to be best friends forever, Haley and Lucas knew that it wouldn't be the same anymore. Living in two different states, hundreds of miles apart, Haley just hoped they would at least stay in contact. While lying in her bed crying, Haley remembered a moment they shared together years ago…

* * *

SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE PRESENT

Nine year old Lucas and eight year Haley sat on the roof of Karen's café, dripping wet from a water balloon fight, wrapped in a million blankets each, with a cup of steaming hot chocolate in each of their small hands.

"Let's promise to stay best friends forever."

As Haley nodded at Lucas's statement, she outstretched her smallest finger, initiating a forever binding pinkie-promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Haley's original moving day

After putting the last few boxes into the moving van, Haley ran over to Lucas's house, for just one last visit. He was already waiting on the front porch and they hugged as soon as she came to the abrupt halt in front of him.

"I'm going to miss you, Hales," Lucas said, a sad look on his face. He knew how much he meant to Haley from how much she meant to him, and so all he could think right now was how to make her feel better. Which was quite hard seeing as he was finding it hard to console even himself.

"Do you remember the night when we were sitting on the roof-top of my mom's café? We promised each other to be best friends forever?"

Haley just nodded as her eyes began to tear up again. She still wasn't getting tired of crying.

"Good, because I'll keep that promise. And so will you." The smile he gave her looked one of the most sincere she had ever seen.

"Okay, Luke, I will." She would have said more, had her voice not been choked - the tears had trapped her words in her mouth. They stood hugging for a minute longer, until she pulled away, sniffing slightly. "I'm sorry, I have to go. My parents are probably waiting for me."

With that she started to walk away but stopped after a few seconds, looking back at her friend; he was still standing there. She tried to smile and waved one last time before walking away. This time it was different to every other time she had left the Scott's home. This time, it was for good.

_Well, that'll be the last time I see her in person, at least for a while,_ Lucas thought.

Half an hour later, Haley was sitting in her mother's car, Tree Hill long ago vanished behind her. She didn't feel anything. At that very moment all she could fell was just felt numb and empty.

Present day

"Okay Luke, I have to go. My parents want to talk about the moving thing." She let out a heavy breath.

"Alright. But let's talk tomorrow then?" He suggested. He knew that Haley had changed; he just hoped that their friendship hadn't.

"I know what you might be thinking Lucas Eugene Scott. Look, it's not that I'm not happy to see you again in a few days…it's just...at first I was worried about leaving New York. Even at the beginning of this skype call, I was thinking about how much I wanted to stay in the city…now I've spoken to you, I've come around on that part…but I guess I'm just still worried. Everything has changed so much since I left Tree Hill, all those years ago."

"I get it Hales. Don't worry so much. I might have found new friends but you're still my best friend. Get it, James? " His smile was heartwarming, the same as they always were, but with a comical edge to it, so as to emphasize that he was joking.

Haley smiled back, perhaps a little half heartedly, and clicked on the end button.

With that, Lucas stood and grabbed the basketball lying on his bed, before heading out of the room. Luckily he had a door out of his bedroom which he could escape from, so that he wouldn't have to explain to his parents where he was going. It wasn't that he didn't like them – in fact, they were all rather better froends than what you'd expect from a family – but he was already late, and Nathan was not the kind of person you could easily get along with after you'd done something to piss him off. With that thought in his mind, he ran all the way to the river court. When he arrived he spotted his friends playing basketball. The girls were sitting on the bleachers cheering the boys on_. It's always the same_. He thought with a smile plastered across his face.

Brooke Davis spotted Lucas right away. "Broody, what a pleasure to see you. You're late."

Before he could say anything, Nathan grabbed the basketball Lucas was holding and threw it through the hoop. "Brooke's right, man. You're late. What took you so long? We've been waiting for hours."

"I'm not that late; just a couple of minutes. I just because I had a Skype session with Haley." Lucas sighed.

"Right, the famous Haley James. All I ever hear about these days. I heard that kid who sits by the bins at lunch –"

"You mean Julian?" Brooke piped up from the bleachers.

Nathan looked at her, a look of incredulity on his face, "How do you know that?"

"As the new prospective student body president, I've memorized all of the kids at our school. From the year book."

Nathan stared at her for a moment, obviously completely amazed that she knew the 'kid who sits but the bins at lunch''s name, before turning back to Lucas, rolling his eyes, and continuing, "Anyway, Julian was saying to some chick that he had heard that Haley was coming back to Tree Hill. Don't know how he knew, but is it true or not?"

"You heard right. She's actually going to move in with us. She'll be here in a few days. My parents just told me this morning. How is it possible that everyone already knows about that?" Lucas muttered.

"Seriously, this is Tree Hill. What do you expect, Lucas? " Peyton Sawyer questioned him.

Lucas didn't know what to say. Peyton was right. This was Tree Hill after all. He was just so happy at the thought of having his best friend back in a couple of days.

Jake, who was standing next to Nathan, brought Lucas out of his thoughts. "Well, speaking for myself, I can't wait to finally meet her. Or remeet her, I guess. Not that I remember her."

Skills, who had been digging deep in his bag for his sweatshirt up until this time, walked onto the court, "As much as I love talking about Haley, are we just gonna do this all night, or are we actually gonna play some ball?

"Let's play two on two. Jake you're with me, Skills, you can team with my dear cousin," Nathan bounced the ball, challenging the two boys. Suddenly, his head snapped up, and he grabbed the chance to show off.

"Hey, Brooke, baby! Watch what your man can do!" He jumped up and threw the ball into the net, with what seemed complete grace and no effort.

Lucas laughed as Brooke rolled her eyes and turned back to Peyton, "Just give me the ball. You're so going to lose. That didn't count."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh. "No one can beat me. I'm the god of basketball."

"I tell you what, let's do one-on-one."

"You're on."

"And what about me?" Jake stated.

Skills had already started to walk over to the bleachers, resigned to the fact that there was nothing that would sway the competitiveness of the two boys.

"Go sit with the girlfriend of yours and safe her. I bet Brooke is already driving her crazy." Nathan challenged and causing Jake to laugh.

"I bet she is. She's your girlfriend after all," said Jake, and with that went over to the bleachers.

One week later

And with the final buzz, the Ravens won 88:65. As usual it was a great game with score leader Nathan Scott followed by his co-captain, Lucas Scott.

"Great game, man," Nathan slapped Lucas on the shoulder when they were back in the locker room, changing and readying themselves for the night of partying that lay ahead.

"Right back at you. Score leader again, huh? " Lucas said.

"What did you expect? Seriously, I'm the best. No one can beat Nathan Scott. You should know that by now, man."

"Right. Have you talked to the girls yet? " Lucas asked him.

Peyton, Brooke and Rachel were already waiting in front of the building for the boys when they eventually come out. When they finally did, Jake went over to Peyton and kissed her on the forehead. Brooke let out an 'Aww' noise, declaring that they were the 'cutest couple ever'. Lucas looked at them with contempt, hating Jake in that moment. Shouldn't he Lucas Scott, co-captain of one of the best high-school basketball teams in the state, get the girl?

"So ladies, what's the plan for tonight? Any ideas?" Nathan said, pulling Brooke into him, his arms around her waist.

Brooke tried to break free and raised her eyebrow. "Take your arms _off _me, Nathan. After what you pulled last night, there's no way that you're touching me." Everyone looked at the ground as she said this, too embarrassed to see the look on Nathan's face, but with a smile at the way that Brooke was the only one of them who could put Nathan into his place.

After a moment of awkwardness, Brooke added, "And no, we don't have a plan."

"How about we go to my mom's café? I don't know about you, but I'm starving," it was Lucas who offered the first suggestion. He was really getting tired of Brooke and Nathan. He just didn't know why they were still together.

"Yeah, let's go to your mom's. Your mom is really hot."

"Dude, she's pregnant." Lucas shook his head. "And she's kinda your aunt."

Nathan just laughed, "Only by marriage." _If looks could kill,_ Lucas thought, _Brooke would probably have succeeded in murdering Nathan._

So the group of friends ended up at Karen's, and were greeted by Nathan's mom, Deb Scott. She was helping out Karen, who was now nearly nine months pregnant. As soon as the teenagers sat down at their usual table, Deb went over to them.

"Hey, kids," She smiled brightly.

"Hey mom," Nathan greeted his mother with a lack of enthusiasm that Lucas would never have offered had it been his mother who had come to the table.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott," The teenagers said in unison.

"So, how was the game? I hope you won," She asked her son, still smiling, but obviously forcing the conversation a bit.

"Sure we did," Nathan said, as he offered his fist to Lucas, who in turn bumped his own fist against it.

"Well I never doubted it in the first place. What can I get you?" Deb asked them.

They ordered their food and drinks and as Deb went to put the order in, they all continued talking.

"So you're nervous? Haley is coming back tomorrow, right?" Peyton asked her friend. She was concerned about Lucas. He just hadn't beenthe same for the last couple of days: much more quiet than he normally used to be.

"Yes she does. Can't wait to see her again. And by that I don't mean over a stupid web cam," Lucas smiled slightly.

_Haley_. He was thinking a lot about her for the past week. He really was excited, he was just nervous, that she wasn't _his _Haley anymore. The girl he had known for most of his life. The girl who knew all of his hopes, and all of his dreams. Even the ones that he couldn't tell the rest of the gang. _The gang_ was something he was quite worried about introducing to Haley; how would she react when she found out that he was not so close to the people they had hated all through the years Haley had been at school with them?

Meanwhile in New York

Haley was lying in her bed, thinking about going back to Tree Hill the next day. She wasn't ready. She didn't want to leave. All that she'd told her self was untrue. She just didn't want to leave the city.

She had even tried to avoid packing her stuff. _This room has become my room. This city has become my home,_ was all that kept running through her head.

Of course she was missing Luke, Karen and Keith, but she built a new life here and she had never even thought about moving back to Tree Hill. At least not after she had had so much success with her music.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts.

"Honey, can we come in? Your dad and I, we want to talk to you about tomorrow." Lydia's head was poking around the door of Haley's room as she said this.

Haley rolled her eyes_. Why can't they leave me alone for just one hour?_

"Okay, come in," Haley muttered, under her breath.

Lydia opened the door and entered the room, followed closely by her husband. They both sat down on the bed and looked at her youngest daughter, concern etched across every inch of their faces. Haley tried to avoid their stares but after a while gave in.

"Do I really have to leave…I mean I could come with you? You're my parents…" Haley whined.

"No honey, you can't come with us. And you know why. We are your parents, so we'd wouldn't leave you alone. That's why Keith & Karen are going to take care of you. We'll visit as often as we can," When Haley rolled her eyes, she continued, "Going back to Tree Hill can't be that bad Haley. You'll get to see Lucas."

"Your mom is right. There's no way out. So get yourself together and start packing. We'll leave at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning." Jimmy James wasn't usually the _strict _parent – he and Lydia normally took a much more relaxed direction when parenting – but in this situation, he had to be.

He just didn't know his daughter anymore and that was a fact that broke his heart.

With that, Jimmy and Lydia got off the bed and left the room, leaving an angry Haley behind.

After a few more minutes of moping, Haley gave in, resigned to the fact that she'd have to get her things together at some point, and so got up and started gathering her things together.

While she was throwing her stuff into the boxes, she found a photo of herself and Lucas, which was taken when they were about…10 years old. She looked at it. _We seemed happy back then. Nothing could have separated us. Maybe Mom and Dad are right. Tree Hill was home. Maybe it can be home again. _After a few minutes, she put the photo into one of the boxes.

A While Later

Lucas was sitting on the roof of Karen's Café. The others had left a couple of hours ago. It was already late but he didn't feel much like going home. This was the last night without Haley. Tomorrow she'll be back in Tree Hill. Back in his life. He couldn't wait to pull her into his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: AHHH you guys are amazing. The amount of alerts, favorites and reviews has been overwhelming! This is the reason we keep writing. Keep 'em coming!

We just want to let you know that this chapter is more of a filler chapter, and the next chapter will contain a lot more!

Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

"Nathan, get up."Dan Scott's voice was slowly getting louder and louder. He was standing in front of Nathan's bedroom door, pounding, with the same technique as he was shouting: start quietly and get louder as no response comes from his son.

Nathan shot his eyes open. He twisted around in his bed and caught a glimpse of his alarm clock. 5.30am.

_Perfect. So much for a lie in on a Saturday morning._Being a teenage boy, this was all Nathan was concerned with at that moment. _Maybe I should pretend not to be in here._

"Nathan, I know that you're in there. You have 5 minutes to get your ass out of your bed and get dressed. I'll be waiting downstairs so that we can go for a run. Don't even think about going back to sleep." Dan's voice was extremely demanding, and so it was with a heavy heart that Nathan realized that he really needed to get out of bed.

"Damn it," was all he could muster to curse under his breath. Slowly, he swung his legs out of bed, and pulled on some shorts lying next to the bed on the floor.

* * *

They had been running for about 10 minutes when Dan finally started talking. He knew that his son was pissed but he really didn't care.

"You know, son. You need to work on your condition and your skills. You're good, but after last night, it's really time to start working harder."

"Actually, I don't know what your problem is. We won last night and I was score leader," Nathan answered, his exhausted state of mind evident in his voice.

Dan started to speed up, wanting to show his son how weak he was.

"See. Your old man is better in form than you are. That's a shame, son."

It made Nathan really annoyed that for Dan, it wasn't enough that Nathan was already a good basketball player. No, he wanted him to be the best.

"When we get back to the house we're doing a workout session and I don't want to hear any complaining." was what he added as they started to slow down.

"But dad…" the teenager tried to protest.

"No excuses. I'm here to help you. That's all I want, and it's all that you need. If you can't get yourself together then I have to do it for you. You shouldn't hang out at the River Court so much when I could be helping you. Or you should try to cut down on the time you spend with your girlfriend, despite how hot she is. You should be in the gym working on your skills. With me."

_It's always the same. Why can't he let it go? Why can't he leave me alone just for once? _

He was really getting tired of his father treating him like this, day in, day out. He saw how Lucas was with his Uncle Keith, and it upset him that his dad was the control freak that he was, when Keith was such an awesome dad, "I like hanging out at the River 's good practice, and I actually have fun there, playing with the guys," And with that, Nathan stopped running and turned around to face Dan. After that he started to walk back in the direction of home.

"What are you doing? We're not done here," Dan barked at him.

"Oh yes, I think we are," Nathan shouted back, anger boiling up in his blood.

* * *

As Haley sat in the back of her father's car, listening to music, she felt happy. Yes, she hated having to leave New York. Yes, she was worried about starting a fresh in this new town. None of that compared, though, to her excitement for seeing Lucas again.

She could hear her mother's voice barely over the music pumping from her headphones, "We're almost there, Haley Bob…"

* * *

Lucas woke up early. He hadn't got much sleep the previous night; after finishing talking to Haley over the phone he felt just happy for sleep. He just didn't know how much longer he could wait for Haley to be back in Tree Hill.

As he kicked off his duvet and moved across his bedroom to his wardrobe, a knock came from his outside door and before he could say anything, the door opened and an angry looking Nathan stepped into the room. His cousin didn't have to say anything, Lucas already knew what was going on. _Dan. _

"You don't even have to say anything. Just let me guess. You're angry because of your dad. What happened this time?" Lucas asked in concern. He knew how hard Dan could be on Nathan, he was so glad that his father Keith was exactly the opposite.

"Don't ask. I kill him, one day." Nathan growled. Although Lucas was used to this somewhat, it was always a shock to see just how much Nathan hated his father. Thank god his own father was the anti-Dan. His usual tactic of trying to calm his cousin down prevailed.

"C'mon, man, let's go to the River Court. We could shoot some balls and have fun. I still have a couple of hours left before Haley will be here."

"I'm not sure…" Nathan tried to protest.

"I don't want to hear any excuses. It'll take your mind off of your Dad. Plus, I wanna kick your ass on the court so bad." Lucas said, a grin plastered on his face.

"I'm not so sure about you kicking my ass. But yeah, let's go. You're right. It'll help to cool down a little."

* * *

Ten Years Before…

"C'mon Nate, we're gonna stay out here until you get this right," Dan Scott's booming voice could be heard through the thunder and rain - an amazing feat as the weather was causing such a huge noise.

Despite the rain having started a few hours earlier, and the thunder joining not long after, the father and son had been playing basketball in the back yard for at least four hours. Maybe longer, but all the hours mixed into one, long, horrible experience for Nathan.

"Dad…I got it hours ago…It's so cold…Why can't we just go in already?" Nathan's voice was that of a young boy's, and for a moment Dan felt regret for making his son stand out in the pouring rain. He was young, after all. The guilt passed almost as soon as it had come.

"I tell you what, son. You make this next shot, and we can go inside. You miss, and you have to do fifty more. You'll be thankful in a couple of years, now go on." Dan challenged him.

Nathan was desperate for food and warmth at this point, and so he nodded, not even quite aware of what he was agreeing to. He lined up for the shot, and let the ball spin out of his hands…

* * *

Present Day…

"And once again Nathan Scott makes the shot! Will you ever _not suck_?" Nathan's jubilant tones filled the entire River Court as he ran to retrieve the ball which he had just thrown through the net.

Lucas could only laugh, "You are such a jerk."

"Yet you still play with me," Nathan's face had had a massive smile across it ever since they had arrived at the court, and so Lucas felt assured that his efforts of cheering his cousin up had worked.

"It's good practice."

The boys played silently for the next few minutes, and a few good shots were made on both sides. Finally, sweaty and exhausted, the boys collapsed onto the bleachers.

After both taking long gulps of water and wiping their faces, it was Nathan who broke the comfortable silence which had fallen between them.

"Is it 'cause she's hot?"

Lucas looked at his cousin with a bemused look on his face, "Huh?"

"Haley."

"No! I don't think of her like that."

"Well then what's the deal with this girl?"

"I dunno, Nate, I just grew up with her…you can say that she's like my sister." Lucas shook his head.

Nathan looked at him with a look of incredulity on his face. Having grown up as a spoilt only child, he had no idea what Lucas was talking about.

"Well I hope she's is hot, there's a serious lack of hot girls around here." Nathan said smirking.

Lucas let out a small laugh, "What about your _girlfriend_?"

Nathan let out a noise that sounded a lot like 'Meh', followed by "We don't really get along."

Again Lucas laughed. He thought for a while and then said, "Peyton's pretty hot."

Nathan turned to look at him. "I almost got with her, you know."

"Really?" Lucas had turned a bright shade of red.

"Wait!" Nathan cried out, "`You really think she's hot!"

"Well that is what I just said," Lucas let a small smile spread across his face.

"No, but you actually _like_ her."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders, just before Nathan answered him, "That's messed up, dude. She's been with Jake _forever_."

"Whatever, man. Break's over. Let's play," With that he stood up, grabbed the ball from the nearest bench and made his way back over to the court.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry it's not terribly long. There's two of us here and unfortunately one of us is ill. Say get well soon!_

_Love it? Hate it? Let us know._

* * *

They had been driving for several hours and Haley was getting more and more exited. She didn't know where the particular feeling came from, but she couldn't wait to pull Lucas, Keith and Karen in a tight hug. They were basically like family to her, after all.

Haley was lost in her thoughts. She was thinking about the day she left Tree Hill and drove to New York. This day was rather similar.

She remembered that she was crying all the way up to the City. How ironic that she didn't want to leave that day, years ago, andtone she didn't want to leave the place she had grown to call home.

* * *

A couple of hours before

After Haley had packed all her stuff into boxes she called Lucas, a habit she had developed over the years she had spent in New York. Lucas could be a bit annoying at times, but she granted that he had really made an effort to stay good freimds and had never complained about the bizarre hours she had often called him.

She needed to talk to him, she needed to hear his voice, needed him to tell her that everything was going to be okay. She dialed his number quickly and the boy picked up right away.

"Hey best friend…" Lucas always answered her calls the same way.

"Hey, I didn't wake you up, didn't I? You don't sound sleepy, but it's early..." She asked, amused.

"No, you didn't. I'm actually sitting on the roof of my mom's café. I didn't really feel like going home. What is it then, you can't wait til tomorrow to see me? Why elarea oiled you be calling me in the middle of the night?" Lucas replied. This time it was him who sounded amused.

"Haha, very funny, Lucas Scott. I just finished packing my life together and I wasn't feeling like going to bed right away. I'm not very tired."

Lucas could hear Haley's sadness through her voice, even though he could tell she was trying to hold it together.

"You know, my mom can't wait to see you. I guess she's even more excited than I am, if that's even possible," The boy tried to cheer her up.

"Well, that's good to know. I can't wait to see her, either. You know, I'm not really feeling ready to move back to Tree Hill, but I missed you guys so much. You're part of my family, so I hope you haven't changed too much."

"Nothing has changed, you'll see. Now go to your bed, you have to sleep for at least a couple of hours. I have a lot planned for tomorrow and I don't want it to be ruined by a sleepy Haley." Lucas teased.

"Oh god… Do I even want to know what you have planned for tomorrow?" Haley's voice was whiny in a way that Lucashad grown used to hearing over the phone recently.

"You'll like it, I promise."

"I'm not so sure about that, but you're normally right, so I'm going to bed," The girl sounded resigned.

"Alright. Good night, Hales."

"Good night." there was a momentary pause, before she spoke again. "Oh and Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Everything is going to be okay, right?"

"Yep, everything is going to be okay. I promise." I hope I'll be right about that, Lucas thought.

* * *

As Haley sat in the back of her father's car, listening to music, she felt happy. Yes, she hated having to leave New York. Yes, she was worried about starting a fresh in this new town. None of that compared, though, to her excitement for seeing Lucas again.

She could hear her mother's voice barely over the music pumping from her headphones, "We're almost there, Haley Bob…"

* * *

"And that's game. You officially lost three times. You should be ashamed." Nathan teased Lucas while dunking the ball into the hoop again, sounded a lot more like his fathe Ethan he'd've liked to admit.

"Shut up, man," Lucas muttered, picking up his bag, "I'm going to take off. Haley will be here anytime soon, so I better get back home." He was about leaving the court when Nathan called after him.

"She's IS hot, isn't she?" the black haired boy smirked, teasing his cousin.

"Ew, don't ever ask me that again. And leave your hands off of her. Got it?" Lucas got a bit mad, he didn't want Nathan to think about Haley like that. Nathan wasn't going to screw her over like all the other girls in the past. Like Brooke. That certainly didn't look like a fun relationship to be in.

"Whatever you say, Luke... See you later." Nathan began dribbling the ball around the River Court, with a huge grin plastered across his face. We'll see about that, Nathan thought.

* * *

The James family was driving through Tree Hill, and Haley had the car window open. She could feel the wind blowing against her neck and whipping her hair. They had already passed Karen's Café, Tric and Tree Hill High School. She was still lost in her thoughts when her dad pulled over and the car came to a hold in front of Lucas's house.

"Haley Bob, we're here…" Lydia James turned around to face her daughter, when she saw that tears where rolling down Haley's cheeks.

"Oh honey, you don't have to cry, we won't leave you alone too long before coming back." Lydia tried to calm down her daughter.

"That's not why I'm crying. Mom, I don't know if I can do this. I thought I could, until we were driving through Tree Hill. It doesn't feel right. I mean…" The girl said with a shaking voice.

Before her parents could say anything, the front door of the house flew open and a much taller version of the boy they had all known years ago stood in front of them. Lucas Scott.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N SERIOUSLY, there are no words to describe how amazing it is when you put your work out on to the internet, and it gets this sort of response! Keep the alerts and favorites and reviews coming; they're awesome!**

**It's so hard writing Nathan as a douche! He's so amazing in all the seasons but the beginning of the first, and just the perfect guy for Haley, so writing him like this is really hard. Thus, cut slack, readers, if he's a bit out of character (for now...).**

**Aaaand... On with the show!**

* * *

Meanwhile Elsewhere...

Peyton was lying on her bed, flicking through some old records, while Brooke was lying on the floor, drawings strewn around her, desperately trying to find the sketch that Peyton had drawn of the two of them. She needed something to hang in the new bedroom her parents were renovating for her.

A comfortable silence had fallen between the two, which Peyton soon broke.

"So... I spoke to Lucas."

"Hmmm." Brooke barely looked up from her searching to answer.

"Yeah, and he wants us to hang out with his friend who's coming to town: Haley," Peyton replied, knowing that despite her unreactive nature sometimes, Brooke was listening to her, "I was thinking we could take her shopping or something tomorrow? Get to know her? I mean, Luke's her friend, and he's not too bad, so she can't be dreadful."

Brooke collected all the pictures in one swift movement, and stood up, before collapsing onto the bed, "Sure, sounds like fun."

Once Peyton noted her friend's sad tone, she looked up for, the records, so that they were looking into each other's eyes, "What's the matter, B. Davis?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "What's not the matter would be a more suitable question."

Peyton giggled, "Nathan?"

Brooke looked at her with a miserable look on her face, and so she pulled her into a hug. Once they had pulled apart, Peyton spoke "Sorry to laugh at your misfortune, but it's always Nathan."

"And if you dated him, you'd understand why. You're so lucky you have Jake."

Peyton didn't know what to say. She was lucky. She couldn't say that to Brooke, though, who was so miserable about her own disastrous relationship. All she said was what she said every time, "Well, what was it this time?"

Brooke looked close to tears, "After Karen's Café last night, we went onto a college party. And I'm pretty sure he made out with another girl there."

Before she could stop herself, Peyton had blurted out, "With you there?" in a tone probably not much appreciated by Brooke, who nodded sadly.

"Brooke, why do you go out with him when he treats you like this? You're worth so much more."

Brooke's eyes filled with tears, "That's sweet, honey. It's for the image, though."

Peyton was confused, "Image?"

Brooke looked at her as though she were insane, "Head cheerleader and Captain of the basketball team. It's what they expect."

Peyton was once again lost for words, amazed - as she so often was - by her friend's need for popularity, "And who's 'they'?"

"The sort of people who expect that sort of thing," was all that Brooke could say, knowing that her friend was making a suggestion that this was a stupid comment to make. Before she could let herself cry, she sat bolt upright, and changed the topic, "I think I'll invite Bevin to this shopping trip. Three's a crowd. Look, I gotta go... People to see, places to be... Or is it the other way around?"

As Brooke left the room, Peyton's concentration travelled elsewhere. Yes, her relationship with Jake was perfect. He loved her, and she loved him. No strings attached. She had never been with anyone other than him, and he assured her that his situation was the same. So why was it that she kept thinking about Lucas? Why did his face keep popping into her kind when she was with her boyfriend? Why was it that when she looked at the ring on her middle finger that Jake had given her for their first anniversary, not only Jake's face, but Lucas's also came to mind?

I should really be grateful, she thought, that my relationship is so great, when Brooke has such trouble with Nathan. I shouldn't be thinking of other guys when I already have the perfect one all to myself.

Peyton pondered for a moment, and then laughed to herself. She couldn't possibly be comparing her relationship to that of Nathan Scott's. That kid was messed up, and it'd take a hell of a lot more that Brooke screaming at him half the time for him to change.

Trying to convince herself this was true, Peyton picked up her phone and clicked through the phone book until she found her boyfriend's name.

He answered quickly, as he always did, and once he had said "Hey, beautiful," she invited him over. Fifteen minutes later they were lying tangled together on her bed.

* * *

She wasn't sure how, but Brooke somehow seemed to find herself outside Nathan's house. The 'image' didn't matter anymore, she was a person before she was a cheerleader, and a person should not have to put up with the sort of things Nathan constantly pulled on her. And so she was going to break up with him.

Just as she changed her mind, she rang the door bell, and after a split second of panicking, she turned and ran down the street. She couldn't break up with Nathan, she loved him.

Despite being confused when she opened the door to seeing Brooke running down the street, Deb had always liked her son's girlfriend, and so she simply rolled her eyes and turned back into the house.

Inside, Nathan's dumbest but most loyal friend was questioning him on his relationship with Brooke.

"To be honest, man, she was just the first cheerleader who'd get into bed with me."

* * *

At the Scott household...

"Luke!" Haley threw open her car door and ran towards her best friend. She didn't slow down as she approached, instead throwing herself into his arms and wrapping her own around his neck. The two of them stumbled a little, but Lucas soon regained his balance, and placed Haley back onto her feet, a huge beam on his face.

"Hales! How are you?"

"I'm fantastic. I'm with you!"

An awkward silence fell between them. They had spoken do much already up to. Tis point that it felt as though they had already said everything. After a moment of awkwardness, Lucas gestured to Haley's father, who was seemingly struggling with the bags at the hind end of the car.

They both moved quickly, and Lucas grabbed one of the three suitcases from the trunk - gaining a smile from Jimmy - and Haley grabbed her guitar and a few material bags, full of her photos and personal items. They struggled towards the house, and Haley broke the silence, "It looks just the same as I remember it."

Lucas looked slightly offended "C'mon, that's not fair..." but quickly cracked a smile, unable to even pretend to be mad with Haley, "Okay, fair point."

The two teenagers cracked a few more jokes as they dragged all of Haley's luggage into Lucas's bedroom, but they soon found themselves in the living room of the house, sitting with their parents, eating homemade lemon cake.

The simply smiled across the room at each other as their parents talked.

"This is so kind of the two of you," Lydia said, reaching out to place a hand on Karen's knee, "We feel terrible dumping Haley on you like this, with such short notice, but there's really no other option."

Keith laughed, "We love Haley! It's not a problem."

Jimmy smiled at the other man appreciatively, before gesturing to his wife to the door.

Within five minutes, they were gone, leaving the Scott's and Haley standing in the hallway of her new home.

Karen spoke, "I'll just show you to your room, Haley, and then maybe you could head out with Lucas later?" she smiled at her son, silently communicating with him, "I'm sure he's got a lot already planned."

Lucas smiled and helped the two women carry all of the bags into Haley's new bedroom, next door to Lucas's. Once the bed was made up, and Haley was semi-settled into her room, Lucas lead Haley off down the road in the direction of the rover court.

"Not a lot has changed since you left in that respect, really," he mused, "I still hang out by the river court every day. Well, nights, mostly, but everyone wanted to meet you, so I told the to swing by this afternoon."

Haley beamed, "Great! I can't wait to see Mouth again!"

Her friend narrowed his eyes slightly, "Actually, Mouth doesn't hang with us so much anymore. Well, never, actually."

Great, Haley thought, things really have changed around here.

* * *

"Haley James, it has been a while," Skills met Haley at the side of the court, with a lot of enthusiasm, while the others hung back.

"Skills!" the pair hugged, and Skills kept her arm around her as they turned, and Lucas started introducing everyone. He started at the end of the line they had formed.

"So, this is Nathan, my cousin."

Nathan reached out to shake her hand, and for a split second, she couldn't get over how attractive he had become. That is, until he opened his mouth, "You're far hotter than I remember, James."

Haley just rolled her eyes. Oh, yeah, Nathan had changed. Or not.

Next, Brooke pulled herself out of Nathan's arms, obviously using this as an excuse to escape from his clutches.

"And I am the fantastic B. Davis! Brooke to you," she introduced herself, and although Haley had outstretched her hand to shake Brooke's, she ran forward and gave her a huge hug, sending Haley flying a bit, and making Skills jump away from where he was standing at Haley's side.

Lucas let out a little chuckle, before pointing to Peyton, "This is Peyton Sawyer, a misery, but one hell of an artist."

The rest of the group laughed outright at Peyton, and she blushed a little and gave Haley a little wave, sort of hiding under Jake's arm pit.

Jake reached forward and took Haley's outstretched hand, "Hey, I'm Jake," was what he said, before smiling and standing back a bit.

Lucas put his hands in his pockets and stood somewhat awkwardly. "Well, that's all of us."

Nathan laughed, before saying, "Well, don't forget Tim. The dork." the group looked at him in disgust, as although none of them could stand Tim, he looked up to Nathan, who really out to show him a bit of mutual respect.

Once the tutting was over, the girls slowly moved over to the bleachers as the guys took their places on the court.

As their game began, the girls' conversation went into full swing.

Brooke was talking the most animatedly, mostly at Haley, "And then there's the geek table, where you should definitely not be seen sitting! If Nathan saw one of us sitting there, he'd probably throw one of them in the dumpster."

When Haley let out a little laugh, thinking that was what was called for, Peyton leaned in and mock-whispered, "She's not kidding."

Brooke continued, "And then there's our table. We all sit there, and some of the rest of the basketball players, and the cheerleaders. Our table is kinda in the middle of the courtyard."

From what Haley could gather, Brooke was the most popular person in the school. With Nathan close behind.

After even more detail about the cafeteria courtyard and the logistics of it all, the conversation came to somewhat of a standstill, and Brooke and Peyton turned o each other, and started talking, from what Haley could gather, about who was going out with who in their school.

The girls seemed nice enough, yes, but just not the same as her. She was bookish, and liked to study hard, but they... They were _cheerleaders. _And they went out with jocks.

And somehow, _somehow_, Lucas had become one of them.

* * *

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